The Report covers Code Review Board actions for the period of July 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007. Of the eight complaints received, in four instances the Code Review Board found violations. Each company with an ad found in violation took responsive action.

“We are now into our third year of issuing public reports on advertising complaints and transparency is clearly having its desired effect. Our members continue to have 100 percent compliance with the Code Review Board decisions and there remains a very high percentage of compliance among non-members as well,” said Distilled Spirits Council President Peter Cressy. “Importantly, there is more and more awareness across all interested parties of the Code’s provisions.”

Background
The DISCUS 70-year-old Code of Responsible Practices for Beverage Alcohol Advertising and Marketing provides for a Code Review Board, comprised of senior member company representatives, that is charged with reviewing complaints about advertising and marketing materials in the marketplace. Additionally, the Code has an advisory board made up of outside independent experts from academia, government and broadcasting.

The distilled spirits industry’s approach to self-regulation, pointed to as a model for other industries by the Federal Trade Commission, has been commended on numerous occasions by regulators, industry watchdogs and the media. The Semi-Annual Code Report was the recipient of PR News Corporate Social Responsibility award for best Business Ethics Communications, and was a finalist for Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program for the American Business AwardsSM.